Fotoviva Art Prints

Uk born photographer Michael Veerasingham is the latest to join the Fotoviva Team and we really like his work! Inspired by nature and open spaces, photography has followed Michael closely throughout his life and his travels. Starting out as a child with a ‘hand me down’ box camera and black and white film, he was introduced to the basic skills of capturing images and their subsequent development by his father. With the advent of the digital age, Michael now uses digital equipment to both take and process his images.

His landscape photography work is subtle yet stunning with a fine collection of additions to our Black and White section. His composition skills and fine exposure help create atmospheric images that will bring a serene feeling to any room.

He is currently based in the rolling foothills of the Basque Pyreneean mountains. British born and of Basque descent he has been familiar with the Basque Country, ‘Euskual Herria’ since early childhood. To this day he remains in awe of this outstandingly beautiful area, which covers parts of both North Eastern Spain and South Western France. He tries to capture the essence of its hills, forests, mountains, lakes, beaches, and rugged coastline. Spoilt for choice in terms of the photographic opportunities the Basque Country provides, he also ventures further afield to maximise the variety of locations and material he is able to shoot. Generally working in low light conditions, he endeavours to bring out the best in his images through the use of both monochrome and colour mediums.

Michael has a selection of his prints available to purchase on Fotoviva and also has his own website at www.koko-images.com

A big welcome to Martyn Starkey who has joined the Fotoviva photography team. We are thrilled to have his images available for sale on the site and he has his own unique style of work which compliments our collection.

Martyn lives in the central part of England and mainly shoots around the Nottinghamshire area. Photography and digital art have been a love of his for many years but only recently has he found the time to take some more artistic pictures.

He currently use a Canon 400d camera with various lenses and programs such as Photoshop and Photomatix for post processing. He likes to use the HDR (High Dynamic Range) technique and lots of processing to create very artistic views of the scenes he shoots. Bright colours and soft focussing abound in his work which really draws attention, especially when printed onto canvas and hung on the wall.

Martyn says “I love wide angle landscapes and really enjoy producing dramatic skies which I hope enhance what is already present in the original pictures.”

More of his artistic work will be uploaded in the next few weeks so keep checking back!

Andrew Gibson, one of the Fotoviva Team who specialises in travel photography, has posted on his photo blog about some inspiring photojournalists who each have a collection of photographs from South America that will amaze you with their thought-provoking style.Take a look at their images which certainly are not the usual photographic work you would find on the internet, more like works of art from days gone by. While you’re there you can find more interesting posts from Andrew about travel photographers and general photography tips and tricks to help improve your own skills.

Tim Wallace has been busy adding new Automotive Art Prints to the Fotoviva Collection with some stunning Aston Martin and Mini Cooper S photographs. These are not just car pictures but works of automotive art that bring out the passion and beauty of these cars. Check out the new prints and see Tim’s own video from YouTube.

We are pleased to announce the newest member of the Fotoviva Team, Howard Goff. With a collection of stunning seascape images Howard is a great addition to the contributors and a thoroughly nice guy!

Howard told us “I am delighted to be joining the Fotoviva contributor team. As a long time admirer of the photography of Jacky Parker, Don Tiffney and Tim Wallace, I am immensely pleased my images will now be complimenting their fine work on the Fotoviva website. I have always viewed Fotoviva as a reliable, trustworthy and ethical company with high levels of customer satisfaction. Their current business strategy offers the perfect distribution channel for my needs. I look forward to forging a strong and successful partnership with the company.”

Howard says his interest in photography started in April 2006 when he purchased a Canon 30D. Initially the aim was to capture images of the beautiful places he visited on his boat, namely along the south coast of England, the Channel Islands and the north coast of France. His philosophy in life is that ‘Belief is 90% of achievement’. He also says that “My aim is to bring a smile to someone’s face each and every day.”

“I have always been attracted to water. 90% of the images I take are of it or something associated with this intriguing element. I am seldom happier than when I am by water or on it. Strange considering I swim like a brick!!!”

“For the coastal shots, I always use a tripod and remote release. The camera settings used are manual exposure, spot metering, ISO 100, Raw and the picture style is set to Neutral (no sharpening or saturation). To balance the sky and foreground I use a set of ND Grads. I always check the histogram after each shot and retake if necessary.”

“I have taught myself to use Camera Raw and Photoshop. For me the post-processing is just as enjoyable as the field work. I love it!! As my skills with the camera increase unfortunately there is less to do in Photoshop. I spend 6-8 minutes on most images in a set workflow. You can see details on my Website at www.360360.co.uk.”

Howard was interviewed and had a feature about his photography in a recent issue of Digital Camera magazine. This included a couple of spreads of his images showing how far he has come in only a few years as a photographer.

“Before taking up photography I had really only heard of David Bailey and wouldn’t recognise one of his images if it fell on me. Most of my inspiration has come from DCM and its website. I have learnt much from Don Tiffney whose technique is flawless but in truth Colin Russell’s gallery has inspired me the most.”

‘Aim to get an image that’s never been taken before and will never be taken again’.
That is my ambition.

We look forward seeing more of Howard’s work in the near future, but in the meantime visit the Fotoviva site to see what he has to offer right now in acrylic, poster or canvas print.

This month we are showcasing a wonderful black and white photograph by Andrew Gibson entitled ‘La Recoleta Angel‘. It was taken in the Cementerio de Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetery in English) in Buenos Aires. It’s one of the cities main attractions and the cemetery is special because only the richest and most famous Argentines are buried there. It’s very expensive and they say it’s cheaper to live the high life in Buenos Aires than to be buried in Recoleta. One of its most famous inhabitants is Evita, otherwise known as Eva Perón, second wife to the Argentine President Juan Perón.

Andrew’s monochromatic high contrast post processing has produced a gritty, gothic styled finish which really stands out. This angel is one of our favourite art prints and it can be seen in the black and white photography section of the website, where it is available in various sizes as either canvas or poster art print.

We are pleased to announce the arrival of UK born Jonathan Chritchley to the Fotoviva Team. His black and white photography is simply astounding and we have a nice selection of his work in the monochrome art section of the online store.

Passionate about photography since receiving his first camera as a small boy, Jonathan studied photography in the UK in the mid-1990’s. Having assisted several fashion, commercial and marine photographers, he uprooted and moved to the south of France 9 years ago, finally fulfilling his dream of photographing the ocean and the people whose lives revolve around it.

Jonathan is based in south west France, where the formidable Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic swell provide a dramatic backdrop to his photographs. He also spends much of his time travelling to some of the best water locations in the world for a growing list of clients, working in and around the ocean to create his trademark dramatic images. Emphasizing an ethereal, atmospheric quality is imperative to him in reaching the more emotional as opposed to the literal and for this he mostly chooses to make photographs during bad weather and challenging lighting situations - dawn and dusk for example.

In early 2007, Jonathan started running photography workshops on the coast in south west France and in other locations. In december he signed a deal with a UK company who have licensed 30 specially commissioned images for distribution across the UK, Ireland and northern Europe for 2008 and beyond. The photographs will be available in selected Athena and Next stores as well as galleries and home furnishing stores from early in the new year.

Jonathan uses Nikon digital camera bodies, Nikkor lenses & Fantasea underwater camera housings. A keen diver, surfer and swimmer, he lives in a converted fisherman’s cottage at the beach in south west France, 40km north of Biarritz, with his wife Belinda and children, Jack and Olivia.

We have a large selection of Jonathan’s inspiring photography available at Fotoviva and there is more to follow. You can see more of his work at OceanCapture.com but in the meantime see some of the images we have, which can also be purchased in our new Triptych Canvas Art format which is proving very popular.

Don was one of our first photographic contributors and has a large selection of images on the Fotoviva Art Store. He has just developed his new website to showcase the exceptional work he has made so we thought it a good time to have a chat with him and see what’s going on.

How long have you been taking photos and what is your camera history?
I have been taking photographs since my early twenties after winning a camera in a sales competition (I was in the motor trade), it was my first ‘proper’ camera a Yashica 35mm GSN rangefinder. I was severely lacking in technique but was very impressed with the quality images the camera was capable of and I set out to improve my picture taking ability.

Over the years I progressed to 35mm film SLR’s & medium format too, my images were nearly always slides and I still have a collection of several thousand that I periodically get out, dust down my projector & have a slideshow session!

I have a collection of vintage cameras (all working) from box Brownies, folders, medium format & of course I still own a Yashica 35mm GSN rangefinder which I last used a week ago. Some of the older stuff I have been trying out lately too (75+ year old cameras) as I have found a supplier of film for these in New York, it really does test your skills! Currently Don mostly uses a Fuji S3 & S5 with a range of lenses, as he likes the amazing latitude the sensor gives with regards to it’s dynamic range & low noise levels.

What is your favourite type of image and where in the world do you like shooting best?
My favourite images have to be landscapes, as I have a strong bond with the great outdoors & love hill walking & cycle touring (always with a camera to hand), I do however enjoy most types of photography & I do a fair amount of portrait work too.

My favourite place to be with a camera is without doubt Scotland, my dad is a Scot & although he has resided in England since the war I have visited north of the border many hundreds of times since being a small child & I love the place (and the people). Nothing for me compares with the grandness of Scotland’s wild scenery & constantly changing moods & light, it is a veritable photographer’s dream.

Tell us about your new website www.dontiffney.com
My new website, although in its infancy is coming along nicely & the Clikpic system makes everything so easy, even for a technophobe like me! My previous site was built for me & not at all as user friendly so I am glad I have made the switch & look forward to building it up over the coming months.

Do you have any tips for budding photographers who want to make some money from their shots?
For any new photographers wishing to start selling images I recommend working hard on firstly capturing the best shots they can & then start off by getting them shown to the public on one of the many stock sites where you can upload them for free & have them sold on your behalf, as skills progress a move to a website of your own will be a natural progression.

Have you tried selling your work elsewhere on the web or offline?
I have sold images through various outlets (small local shops etc.) & of course my old website & hopefully I will have gallery space for the coming year on Skye & a link up with one of the islands promotional websites, so exciting times lie ahead! I also do well with the Fotoviva Art site but by far my most lucrative work however has been private commissions for portraiture & most of this work, in fact nearly all, has been by recommendation from previous customers, which is very satisfying.

Which other photographers do you admire?
The photographers I most admire are Charlie Waite & David Noton, I never tire of looking & learning from the way they both capture the light & the ‘feeling’ of the landscapes they photograph.

So after thirty odd years of fairly consistent photography I still class myself as a learner & hope I will continue to learn new methods & skills to add to those I already have, photography & the places & things I photograph still give me such a ‘buzz’ & I hope they always will!

Many thanks to Don for this interview and we look forward to seeing his website develop and seeing more images on Fotoviva over the coming weeks.

Our specialist flower photographer Jacky Parker has just had her wonderful ‘Rain Bells’ image awarded 1st prize in the Plant Portrait category of the prestigous Royal Hoticultural Society Photography Competition. It took the panel of judges two days to decide on the 19 winning photographs in the six competition categories but Jacky’s beautiful shot deservedly came through on top.

The competition is sponsored by the Medici Gallery in London, where it will be on display in the middle of January 2008 for one week and also in the RHS gardens Wisley spring through to autumn next year.

You can find the winning photo in our Floral Category and it is available to buy as a gallery wrapped canvas picture or ready to frame fine art poster print.

Congratulations to Jacky!

Pedro Bento is the latest recruit we would like to welcome to the Fotoviva photography team. Pedro is from Portugal and we are happy to have some of his great work available which includes some truly stunning landscape and seascape photography. He loves to take photographs in the extremes of the day, at dawn and dusk, when the ‘golden light’ appears for brief moments and shows the true beauty of a place. Pedro uses professional equipment by the likes of Canon and Manfrotto but always has in mind that cameras and lenses are simple tools and it isn’t the top gear equipment that captures the spirit of a place, but your knowledge and dedication.

Pedro says “I have been in love with nature since I was a kid, and I started taking photographs simply as records of my outdoor adventures. However, when a friend introduced me to some books of American Landscape Photographers I felt awed by the way they played with light in their images. After that day I decided, my images would never be just registers of places rather than registers of those places souls.”

We have a nice selection of Pedro’s work available on the Fotoviva store and all are available in a range of sizes as either canvas art pictures or poster prints. You can also visit his own website at www.pedrobento.com for more information.